Poll of the Day > all games should have an easy mode

(+) Yeah! (+)

topic

I dont care

I dont think it should be any kind of rule or anything. Just leave it up to the developer,

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how else will journalists be able to finish their games to review

Being as some games have no difficulty nope.
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It should be up to the discretion of the developer, what they want their game to be.
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miki_sauvester posted...

how else will journalists be able to finish their games to review

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Only if the developers want it.
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The less variables a developer must consider throughout the entire development process, such as having multiple levels of difficulty, the better they can polish and perfect the gameplay that they are confident every player will be able to experience, as opposed to having to cater to a larger demographic with varying skill levels.
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Disagree. A lot of games just have no difficulty setting at all, with difficulty being overcome through experience. They are balanced to be learning experiences if the game is good.

And some games have dynamic difficulty, like Godhand and Resident Evil 4. I think this is superior to a controlled difficulty setting and to no difficulty setting: As you do better, the game gets harder. But when you start to do poorly, the game edges to an easier state.

Godhand is pretty obvious with it, having a meter showing the difficulty. RE4 though does it sneaky like.You won't even notice if you didn't know what to look for.
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I feel like this board already argued over this recently...
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Keebs05 posted...

I feel like this board already argued over this recently...

There was a "journalist" who released an article saying every game should have an easy mode to be "inclusive" a month or two ago, which started a bunch of discussions like this everywhere, about if there should be a "gaming journalist mode" in games or not.
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To push for an "Easy Mode" to all video games takes the overall experience of a game, and flushes it down the toilet. The main argument that was presented about the inclusion of an "Easy Mode" was a comparison to a handicapped person trying to eat at a nonhandicap accessible restaurant, and not being able to.

To be honest, the idea that all video games should be able to be played by everyone takes and puts the question of fairness into a grey area. Who decides what is fun and what isn't? Look at how many people complain if they don't win an online game. They start whining about how they aren't having fun because of whatever reason. From lag, to being killed too many times, and so on. Yet the other side of the argument is that the person who is winning is having a good time because they enjoy that type of game, and have invested the time to play it.

Back to the single player aspect though, and you still have the same argument. A player who can't be bothered to invest even a decent amount of time to understand a game will whine about it being too hard, and complain that the game is a terrible game because there is no easy mode.

Video games are made for a wide range of gamers already, and to implement something like this would pretty much make every game into the same thing. Not to mention that people will start bragging about how easy the game is, and that they have beaten it many times. Then there's the ones who will ask "What difficulty did you play on?" Watch how fast the bragger starts to turn things around to where they are being bullied because of the difficulty they were on. The people who want the Easy difficulty setting will never play the game on any other setting, but will think that they are the best ever because they beat the game.

Strategy, patience, determination, and skill are what gaming has always been about. The "Everyone is a winner." mentality has to stop. There are winners and losers. It is if you can learn from the wins and losses that make the difference between having fun or not.

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There should be easy AND hard mode. So that every gamer can have their fun. Thing is you can play the way you want to enjoy yourself, and companies can enlarge their audience (and benefits) through this. Everyone wins end of debate

I don't care either way, I am just going to crank up the difficulty as high as it goes and play the game anyways. I might turn it down a bit if I can't make any progress, but that is it.
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If a large part of the game is about the story/experience, then whether it's an easy mode or trainers/cheats, etc... I don't mind. I'm enjoying playing FF8 Remastered using the 3x mode and battle assist as it speeds things up as I just want to go through the story again now that I'm much older and can appreciate the various themes/issues.

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XadePsyconic posted...

The less variables a developer must consider throughout the entire development process, such as having multiple levels of difficulty, the better they can polish and perfect the gameplay that they are confident every player will be able to experience, as opposed to having to cater to a larger demographic with varying skill levels.

Couldn't they just take extra time to still polish it off? This is probably only true if they are on a tight deadline. And not even always then if they understand that game sometimes get delayed to make sure everything is as good as it can be...

DarkKirby2500 posted...

Keebs05 posted...

I feel like this board already argued over this recently...

There was a "journalist" who released an article saying every game should have an easy mode to be "inclusive" a month or two ago, which started a bunch of discussions like this everywhere, about if there should be a "gaming journalist mode" in games or not.

It's also just a pretty common argument here. I think Knight brings it up a lot, as well...
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Every game should have a Easy/Normal/Hard/Extreme mode.

blackthunder329 posted...

To push for an "Easy Mode" to all video games takes the overall experience of a game, and flushes it down the toilet. The main argument that was presented about the inclusion of an "Easy Mode" was a comparison to a handicapped person trying to eat at a nonhandicap accessible restaurant, and not being able to.

To be honest, the idea that all video games should be able to be played by everyone takes and puts the question of fairness into a grey area. Who decides what is fun and what isn't? Look at how many people complain if they don't win an online game. They start whining about how they aren't having fun because of whatever reason. From lag, to being killed too many times, and so on. Yet the other side of the argument is that the person who is winning is having a good time because they enjoy that type of game, and have invested the time to play it.

Back to the single player aspect though, and you still have the same argument. A player who can't be bothered to invest even a decent amount of time to understand a game will whine about it being too hard, and complain that the game is a terrible game because there is no easy mode.

Video games are made for a wide range of gamers already, and to implement something like this would pretty much make every game into the same thing. Not to mention that people will start bragging about how easy the game is, and that they have beaten it many times. Then there's the ones who will ask "What difficulty did you play on?" Watch how fast the bragger starts to turn things around to where they are being bullied because of the difficulty they were on. The people who want the Easy difficulty setting will never play the game on any other setting, but will think that they are the best ever because they beat the game.

Strategy, patience, determination, and skill are what gaming has always been about. The "Everyone is a winner." mentality has to stop. There are winners and losers. It is if you can learn from the wins and losses that make the difference between having fun or not.

A lot of this stuff was mentioned last time. The bullies would probably bully, anyway. And anyone trying to brag about the game beating it on easy probably should unless the easy mode was insanely hard, for some reason.

Some people do like a certain type of game, but it's just too hard. It's not like you have to play the easy level. If easy isn't fun for somebody, they don't play it. It's pretty simple.

For the fun part, I don't think the stuff you mentioned matters much. The game would be mostly the same, aside from one mode being easier. If they didn't like the game for being too hard, they may like the game now as they can actually play and make progress. If they didn't like it for other reasons, then easy mode probably doesn't matter to them.

I also don't see how adding easy mode makes the games the same. Many games already do have different levels of difficulties, and they are all different games.

Giving the games an easy mode isn't about the "Everyone is a winner" mentality. It more of the "Everyone can now play" mentality. Where everyone can at least experience the game. From children, to handicap people, to people who like games but knows they suck at them... They may not be able to play the game on normal, but still want to experience them...
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Games should be able to adjust the difficulty automatically. If someone is clearly having trouble with a particular area, the game should lower the difficulty until the player can get past it. If they're obviously breezing through, the game should ramp things up to provide a challenge. Make this an optional feature, of course, so some people can play on easy or hard if that's what they really want.
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captpackrat posted...

Games should be able to adjust the difficulty automatically. If someone is clearly having trouble with a particular area, the game should lower the difficulty until the player can get past it. If they're obviously breezing through, the game should ramp things up to provide a challenge. Make this an optional feature, of course, so some people can play on easy or hard if that's what they really want.

Some games offer that. I've played games where I've gotten to a difficult part, and died a bunch. It offered to go to an easier level. I was also trying to do something in a game once and kept dying. I don't think it was a normal part of the game. Or was not really something I needed to do. And kept dying trying to get somewhere I probably wasn't suppose to go. It also offered then. I declined both time, but it was nice to ask...
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Option #6: Death Stranding has completely failed to capture my interest and I couldn't care less how hard or easy the game is.

So long as an easy mode/hardcore mode being implemented does not affect the other difficulties I normally play at, it won't bother me if they exist. We're talking about video games here. I feel there's bigger things in life to be concern about than one's play-through being invalidated just because some average John/Jane beat it on easy but to each their own.

That being said.....
KJ StErOiDs posted...

Only if the developers want it.

.....I'll also agree that really depends on what the developers want. Some are willing to cave-in to make a game more accessible while some try and stay true to their vision.
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It's called Git Gud

They really should. Not everyone is good at gaming plus I'm pretty sure Nintendo doesn't want little Timmy ragequitting because he can't get through the first castle in Super Mario.
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DiduXD posted...

They really should. Not everyone is good at gaming plus I'm pretty sure Nintendo doesn't want little Timmy ragequitting because he can't get through the first castle in Super Mario.

Doesn't Nintendo have that thing where they automatically play for you to help get past a "hard" part?
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SpeedDemon20 posted...

DiduXD posted...

They really should. Not everyone is good at gaming plus I'm pretty sure Nintendo doesn't want little Timmy ragequitting because he can't get through the first castle in Super Mario.

Doesn't Nintendo have that thing where they automatically play for you to help get past a "hard" part?

I know some Mario games did. Probably still do...
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Yeah, I remember people going crazy over it a few years ago. But it turned out to not be a big deal.
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AntonSaidWhat posted...

Every game should have a Easy/Normal/Hard/Extreme mode.

Also no. Some games don't need a difficulty select. I don't really care if games have them though providing the "normal" mode isn't watered down. Kingdom Hearts 3 proud mode is a good example of making a game way too easy on it's highest difficulty mode.
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It's nice to have the option there, even though I never use it for an actual playthrough. I might use it to run around and explore without being distracted, like with "Liebermode" in Postal 2. Although I much prefer the hardest difficulties, such as "Very Fucking Hard" in Postal 2.

I REALLY like Postal 2's VFH. Not only are all bystanders armed with absurd weapons (with the ocasional nuke going off), they open fire on you as soon as they see you. It's like a GTA cheat code, except it's the entire game. Flipside, Libermode makes them all unarmed and run away from you if you even point a gun their way.
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Keebs05 posted...

I feel like this board already argued over this recently...

Yeah this was a thing with Sekiro
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Kind of an unnecessary tax on the development team... just my opinion, but nothing's stopping you from looking up reviews before you play if you don't think you can handle it.

I'd rather development time go toward new features.
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RedPixel posted...

Kind of an unnecessary tax on the development team... just my opinion, but nothing's stopping you from looking up reviews before you play if you don't think you can handle it.

I'd rather development time go toward new features.

Some people don't know. They know certain things about the game, but not that it's going to be insanely hard. Or hard for them. And some also don't want to have to many spoilers. And even if it seems hard, most people might think it has an easy mode like most other games these days. And it could also be a gift...
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Different difficulty modes are probably one of the easiest things to throw in as an afterthought. It's why it's in almost every single game, it doesn't take any development time.

You literally just throw in a damage modifier for difficulty and another menu option to enable it.

if (mode == hard) difficulty_modifier = 2
if (mode == medium) difficulty_modifier = 1
if (mode == easy) difficulty_modifier = 0.5

damage_done = enemy_damage * difficulty_modifier

The easiest part is, unlike other changes, if you miss a certain aspect of hard mode, it doesn't actually matter, because the player will probably never notice, and (99.9% of the time) nothing will break if it's half-assed.

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Keebs05 posted...

I feel like this board already argued over this recently...

I was just looking for that thread, but it's one of the few not properly archived on the website.

Anyway, while I don't really think that all games should (due to artistic vision possibly not translating to multiple difficulties), I don't have a problem with it in general. It gives everyone access to the basic experience, and players can graduate to higher difficulties as their skill improves.

I'd also compare it to ordering a menu item at a restaurant without a certain ingredient. If you don't like spicy food, you should be able to order a specific burger with everything except the spicy sauce on it. It's not really fair to be forced to eat it as-is or not at all, because "it's meant to be spicy."
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There is an easy mode in all games, it's called normal.
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Aaantlion posted...

There is an easy mode in all games, it's called normal.

Yeah tbh most games are painfully braindead by default.

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I disagreed on the basis that not all games should have an easy mode, as some games are very defined by their difficulty curving upwards as the game progresses, generally RPG type games, but any game that does include a difficulty select could have it, as it has been most of the time, I have seen a couple of games that do something kind of clever, if you play on easy mode, you cannot unlock certain things, or the "True" ending, you have to play it on normal or above, any game with a constant online component shouldn't such as Monster Hunter or any souls type games, part of those games charm, is the fact that you accomplish beating a boss, you earned that armour or unique weapon.

Can you imagine this? you have beaten the boss, it took you hours of prep, learning tells, finding the right set with resistences, upgrading your weapon to the best it can be, you forge the weapon or armour from the boss soul/body parts then up pops little timmy snowflake (I apologise in advance to anyone who goes by Timmy or variations of), with the set you have set your heart on because his settings were on easy mode and he beat the boss in two hits with a weapon and armour set that your difficult setting would get you turned into a smear on the wall.

If all games had an easy setting this would be the norm, in general its why I personally hate the "Pay to Win" model most MP games tend to take, it's more about who had the best bank balance (parents or theirs) to afford the +200 sword/gun of oneshotting and the Armour of NoClipScrewYou.
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finalfaw posted...

Can you imagine this? you have beaten the boss, it took you hours of prep, learning tells, finding the right set with resistences, upgrading your weapon to the best it can be, you forge the weapon or armour from the boss soul/body parts then up pops little timmy snowflake (I apologise in advance to anyone who goes by Timmy or variations of), with the set you have set your heart on because his settings were on easy mode and he beat the boss in two hits with a weapon and armour set that your difficult setting would get you turned into a smear on the wall.

They can make it so you get certain things based on you difficulty. Like how you were talking about games that only give you the true ending if you play on something other than easy. They can do the same for pretty much most things. Like armor you get from a boss and such...
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>Most games already have an easy mode

>Devs shouldnt be forced to change their games to have one if they dont want to
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Lol game journos really want easier games:

"Sekiro needs to REPSKET their players by adding easy mode":
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2019/03/28/sekiro-shadows-dies-twice-needs-to-respect-its-players-and-add-an-easy-mode/#642e76671639

"EVERY game should have a very easy mode":
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019/09/every-game-should-copy-death-strandings-very-easy-mode/
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Some games really don't lend themselves to having their difficulty adjusted without changing a lot, but if it's reasonably simple to put one in (i.e. tweak a few damage/hp values, adjust some spawns, remove some of the more challenging attack patterns...), there's really no reason not to have an easier mode. If the mere existence of an easy mode detracts from your ability to enjoy a game that's challenging on harder modes, you really need to get over yourself. More people enjoying a game that you like is not a bad thing.

Yellow posted...

Different difficulty modes are probably one of the easiest things to throw in as an afterthought. It's why it's in almost every single game, it doesn't take any development time.

You literally just throw in a damage modifier for difficulty and another menu option to enable it.

if (mode == hard) difficulty_modifier = 2
if (mode == medium) difficulty_modifier = 1
if (mode == easy) difficulty_modifier = 0.5

damage_done = enemy_damage * difficulty_modifier

That's the lazy way out, and it's often not that enjoyable. Take it to extremes, and you get either rocket tag or bullet sponges (or enemies being bullet sponges that play rocket tag with you), which just gets tedious instead of actually harder. Proper difficulty should make it harder to avoid making errors, not just punish those errors more.

_AdjI_ posted...

That's the lazy way out, and it's often not that enjoyable. Take it to extremes, and you get either rocket tag or bullet sponges (or enemies being bullet sponges that play rocket tag with you), which just gets tedious instead of actually harder. Proper difficulty should make it harder to avoid making errors, not just punish those errors more.

Yeah, that's the lazy way to do it, the least well designed way, also the most common. It's always better than nothing, though.

In Batman, the hard mode is just a nerf to Batman's armor, the removal of a couple warnings, and an increase to enemies' FOV, which also takes the changing of maybe 20 lines of code. The latter two are your "well designed" difficulty spikes, and the former is the "easy" one I noted.

I'd never play it on anything but the hardest setting, and other people only play it on easy, so I guess it gets the job done. I like the sense of removing plot armor, like bullet sponge Batman, and other people like to cheat and watch the story.

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Easy mode is for people who think crash bandicoot and spyro are playable games.... Ugh..
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ferko420 posted...

Easy mode is for people who think crash bandicoot and spyro are playable games.... Ugh..

You think Crash is an easy game?

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